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The Center for Islamic Studies welcomes all new and returning students, instructors, and visiting scholars for the academic year 2017-2018. We are honored and grateful to have Professor Mark Massoud, Associate Professor of Politics and Legal Studies at UC Santa Cruz as a Mellon Visiting Scholar, and Dr. Jessica Chen, PhD in Islamic Studies from Stanford University, working on Muslim-Buddhist dialogue while at the CIS/GTU. We are delighted that Carol Bier, Historian of Islamic Art, will continue her work with the CIS/GTU as Research Scholar, and also delighted that Dr. Kei Takahashi from...

From the Fall 2016 issue of Currents, view PDF
By Elizabeth S. Peña
Picturing things, taking a view, is what makes us human; art is making sense and giving shape to that sense. It is like the religious search for God. —Gerhard Richter
The arts—literature, dance, music, and the visual arts—enhance religious experience and evoke transcendence. Artistic expression often provides common ground for scholars and practitioners representing a wide variety of faith traditions. In the classroom the arts offer entry into complex concepts and philosophies. These are just a few of the reasons why the...

In this Issue:COVER STORYBeauty that Empowers by Suzanne E. Miller
FEATURESLetter from the PresidentThe GTU Creates a Doctoral Program for the 21st Century by Arthur Holder
The GTU Honors Judith Berling by Emily Wu
My Mentor, My Teacher, Judith Berling by Sophia Park
From Mosques to Museums by Doug Davidson
The GTU Celebrates the Center of Swedenborgian Studies by James Lawrence

General Information
Students must be in a degree program to cross-register for a UCB course. For further information, see the GTU/UCB Cross-registration agreement.
If you encounter problems or questions in the process, please contact John Seal, GTU Consortial Registrar (510/649-2462).
UCB Course Schedule
https://classes.berkeley.edu
Deadlines & Important Dates
The Friday of the first week of the semester at noon is the deadline for filing the Cross Registration form in the GTU Consortial Registrar’s Office. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this deadline.
Cross-...

When it comes to horror films, a dash of holy water, a priest waving a cross, and some unintelligible Latin usually provide enough legitimacy to make the most demonic possessions believable to the general population. But when brothers Chad and Carey Hayes set to writing their most recent screenplay, they wanted an accurate portrayal more than dramatic. Diana Walsh-Pasulka (M.A. ’99) provided the expertise they needed for incorporating the Old Roman Rite of exorcism preferred by Ed and Lorraine Warren, the couple who famously investigated the Amityville Horror and the real life inspiration for...

From the Spring 2017 issue of CurrentsView PDF of article * View PDF of Entire Issue
by Jeffrey Richey
Dr. Jeffrey L. Richey (PhD, 2000) is the GTU’s 2016 Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Richey is Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Berea College in Kentucky, where he holds the Francis Alexander McGaw Chair in Religion. A highly respected scholar of Chinese and Japanese religions, Richey has published and edited numerous books on both historical and contemporary Confucianism and Daoism, and is currently at work on a book tentatively entitled Interfaith Spirituality in Post-Religious America’s...

Sarlo Award-winner Dr. Munir Jiwa reflects on art and Muslim identity, interreligious dialogue, and the growth of the GTU’s Center for Islamic Studies
From the Fall 2015 issue of Currents
What does it mean to be Muslim, and how does Islamic tradition find expression in contemporary life? Some might expect to find the answer to such questions by visiting a mosque or speaking with an imam. But throughout his academic career, Dr. Munir Jiwa has sought to address these questions more expansively. “Being Muslim is not just a theological commitment,” says Jiwa, “it can also be a cultural or...

Over time the Graduate Theological Union and UC Berkeley have confirmed their relationship by developing two programs for cross-registration that reflect the mutual respect which they have for each other and that create extensive opportunities for the exchange of ideas, enriching both the UCB students and the students in the GTU community.
The Cooperative Program is limited to GTU PhD students who have been approved by the Graduate Division at UCB for course work only.
The Casual Program is open to all degree students in the GTU community and to all students at UCB in the Graduate...

The May 10 ceremonies at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary's Chapel of the Cross recognized 62 graduates who completed their degrees in Fall 2011 or Spring 2012. Thirty-six students graduated with a Master of Arts degree, five received a Master of Arts with a concentration in Biblical Languages, and twenty-one received the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Graduates are listed by degree and include their thesis title, area of study or school of affiliation, committee members, and thesis abstract; language specialization is noted for MABL graduates in lieu of thesis information. View photos on...

The May 12 Commencement ceremonies marked the beginning of a new journey for 62 graduates who completed their degrees in Fall 2010 or Spring 2011. Thirty-three students graduated with a Master of Arts degree, four received a Master of Arts with a concentration in Biblical Languages, and 25 received the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Doctor of Philosophy | Master of Arts | Master of Arts with a Concentration in Biblical Languages
Departing faculty member Richard M. Gula, S.S., Professor of Moral Theology at the Franciscan School of Theology, delivered the faculty remarks and Sharon R. Fennema,...

An institution of higher learning unlike any other, the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley brings together scholars of the world’s diverse religions and wisdom traditions to advance new knowledge, share inspiration, and collaborate on solutions.